Coun. Shila Sharps speaks at council meeting at city hall in this April 2024 file photo.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
@@CollinGallant
A city committee head says she put homeless shelters in Medicine Hat on an agenda to get it out in the open, and doesn’t understand criticism from the province that the city has somehow hidden or derailed work on the issue.
“I called the meeting to get this before the public, and invited everyone involved. There was no ill-will here – 100 per cent,” said Coun. Shila Sharps, who was criticized at Thursday’s development and infrastructure committee meeting by Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Justin Wright.
He told the meeting of 17 local officials that the city has mishandled a communications strategy developed by the Ministry of Community, Housing and Social Services and relayed in October.
As it is, he said, a larger plan to translate the service “navigation centre” models used in Calgary and Edmonton to smaller centres – with Medicine Hat as a pilot – is on hold until the immediate issue of permitting a temporary shelter this winter is dealt with.
The expanded use application for the Mustard Seed’s Allowance Avenue community resource centre will go before the local planning commission on Jan. 15, but a public notice was issued last week.
“We can’t even talk about the plan until this gets rectified,” Wright said. “I have concerns about the communication plan, when councillors and the mayor are part of conversations with Minister (Jason Nixon) … The associate deputy minister is in contact with city administration weekly. These conversations have happened, we have an actionable item – the relocation of the Mustard Seed to one location – and that has not been communicated by parties involved, from what I’m hearing.”
City council has also debated the level of responsibility of the city on the issue. Council passed a new set of priorities this year, including support for a “rapid response” to issues of crime and social disorder in the community with the province and local social agencies.
Coun. Alison Van Dyke said Thursday she felt the province would eventually announce provincial plans.
Mayor Linnsie Clark told the meeting that the city would strongly consider its involvement, but the issue is still a provincial initiative with a specific agency, and they should be expected to lead.
Sharps said the focus now from all parties should be advancing solutions.
“The province is working with the Mustard Seed, we (the city) has to work with the community,” said Sharps on Friday. “We need to let people know what we’re doing for the Flats.”
The committee heard that the planning department is handling a development permit application, but department heads said they must act objectively dealing with applicants and potential objections.
The larger issue was forwarded to the public service division, which includes some social support work through the community development department.
New public services committee chair, Coun. Cassi Hider, said problems and plans for solutions need to be discussed by more parties more often.
“It’s a critical issue,” she said. “People may have negative opinions about people who live out on the streets, but really, how can you leave someone out to freeze?”
Police Chief Alan Murphy attended the meeting and noted the new city budget includes money to add two officers to a downtown foot patrol that the service hopes to broaden to include N. Railway Street and to Allowance Avenue.
“We’ve spent $70,000 in overtime (this fall) responding to the situation, and that’s not sustainable,” he said, noting that creating a temporary site this winter, potentially with Atco trailers in city storage yards, would be ill-advised.
It had been tried in other cities and largely transplanted impacts or created new problems, he said.
The meeting later heard that police squad cars have been used in some instances when shelter space has been at capacity this year.
“We’re not letting anyone freeze,” reiterated Medicine Hat Community Housing manager Jaime Rogers.
Emergency management director Merrick Brown told the meeting that the city has standing plans to help homeless populations during sharp drops in temperature.
At sustained -40C, or warmer if requested, city staff contact social service providers to co-ordinate extra help, and can provide heated buses or facilities for short-term use.
